TerraCycle Brings Environmental Action and Fundraiser to Trenton Public Schools

Several Trenton, NJ-based public schools have completed TerraCycle's School-Wide Recycling Events, enabling students to raise money for their schools while benefiting the local environment. Company will also partner with Trenton non-profit group to foster community development in distressed communities.

Trenton, NJ (PRWEB) December 22, 2003 --TerraCycle, Inc., a pioneer in the research and development of organic gardening and agricultural products, today announced that three Trenton schools have completed its School-Wide Recycling Event, with several more already scheduled to participate in the program in the New Year. Throughout December, Cadwalader Elementary School, Franklin Elementary School, and Arthur Holland Middle School students had an opportunity to raise money for their schools while benefiting the local environment, using an innovative process -- called terracycling -- to recycle their own garbage and create an all-natural plant growth product to sell to parents and friends.

The unique terracycling process harnesses the power of earthworms to go a step beyond traditional recycling, transforming everyday waste into a useful product that is not just environmentally friendly but environmentally beneficial. The product, Earth Plant Fuel, can be sprayed directly onto houseplants, lawns, and gardens for greener, healthier, stronger plants. Unlike commercial fertilizer products, it includes all of the nutrients for natural, abundant plant growth -- without synthetic or toxic chemicals that are unsafe to people and the environment.

As part of its School-Wide Recycling Event, which is taking place in schools across New Jersey, TerraCycle provided the schools with worm bins for its classrooms, where students watched a small army of worms convert garbage from their own cafeteria into a natural fertilizer -- the key ingredient for Earth Plant Fuel. They also launched a school-wide campaign to rescue" discarded plastic drink bottles, using them as containers for the final product and raising money for school programs in the process.

The environmental benefits of recycling truly have a global reach. Our School-Wide Recycling Events enable students to get involved on a local level, and see their own impact immediately," said Tom Szaky, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of TerraCycle. These Trenton students have done a stellar job in their recycling campaigns, and should feel a great sense of accomplishment in that their efforts will continue to benefit the entire city for years to come."
Further pursuing its mission to positively impact local communities through environmental and social action, TerraCycle is also teaming up with Isles, Inc., a Trenton-based non-profit group nationally recognized for its community development and environmental organization programs. Together, TerraCycle and Isles will collaborate on a range of projects, including community gardens, a new TerraCycle production facility, and a student-accessible science lab.

Isles has a history of exploring unconventional but highly effective means of responding to urban problems -- so TerraCycle is a fitting partner for us," said Martin Johnson, founder and CEO of Isles, Inc. In the coming months and years, we hope to take the enthusiasm and fresh ideas of both organizations to enhance the health and economy of local communities -- and to have some fun."

In early 2004, Jefferson Elementary School and Paul Robeson Elementary School, both located in Trenton, will be running their own TerraCycle School-Wide Recycling Events. All public and private schools, community groups, and religious institutions in the Trenton-area and throughout New Jersey are invited launch their own recycling events and fundraisers sponsored by TerraCycle. Contact 609-252-9600 for details.

About Isles, Inc.
Founded in 1981 by Princeton University students, Isles, Inc. is a nationally recognized, non-profit community development and environmental organization, designed to foster more self-reliant families in healthy, sustainable communities. Isles operates an array of activities that strengthen physical, economic, social health of local communities. Each year, Isles reaches more than 10,000 central New Jersey residents with programs in at-risk youth job training and education, affordable housing, financial literacy training, homeownership counseling, community gardening, environmental health and education, community organizing, and regional planning. For more information, call 609-341-4700 or visit Isles online at www.isles.org.

About TerraCycle, Inc.
TerraCycle, Inc. is a pioneer in the research and development of organic gardening and agricultural products for consumer and commercial use. The companys flagship product, Earth Plant Fuel, promotes superior plant health and growth -- with beneficial ecological side effects. Founded in 2001 by Princeton University students, TerraCycle began as a venture to pursue a financially viable market opportunity with an ecological and social conscience. Today the company continues with its commitment to improve the environment and local communities with its TerraCycle School-Wide Recycling Events -- providing a fundraising platform for schools and local community and religious groups to benefit the environment while raising money. For more information, call 609-252-9600 or visit the company online at www.terracycle.org.
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